Mid-biennium budget benefits people served by OhioMHAS

The 2014 Mid-Biennium Review (MBR) continues the process of rebuilding community infrastructure for mental health and addiction services. Working together, the House, Senate and Administration prioritized the spending of $47.5 million in one-time SFY 2015 state funds to:

Prevent substance abuse statewide through evidence-based programs, including programs like Start Talking! that build the courage and strength in children to say no ($6.5 million),

Double the state’s budget for licensed community-based housing through the Residential State Supplement program to create more safe places where people in crisis can achieve housing stability in a community setting ($7.5 million),

Expand access to recovery housing, which is a necessary support for many people who are early in their sobriety and need to be in an environment that supports healing ($5 million),

Defray payroll costs so local courts can hire additional staff to support a specialty docket to ensure offenders comply with treatment ($4.4 million), and

Address gaps in care identified in consultation with boards of mental health and addiction services, with an emphasis on crisis services and housing-related challenges ($24.1 million).

Additionally, the MBR includes provisions from House Bill 369 (Sprague) that establish a full array of services for opioid and co-occurring drug addiction, require local boards to support a full continuum of care across mental health and addiction services, and define recovery housing as a service and earmark $5 million in OhioMHAS community capital funds to develop greater access.